Snowden anniversary a reminder of the need to protect whistleblowers and journalists
AP Photo/George Brich
Whistleblowers are essential to a free and unfettered press.
Whistleblowers play a critical role in informing the public and holding the government to account.
Sources who act out of conscience to leak information to the press further our democracy. Whistleblowers like Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden, have exposed some of our government’s gravest abuses.
Unfortunately, whistleblowers are often prosecuted and jailed. That’s wrong. Whistleblowers and the journalists they work with should be celebrated, not punished.
Featured Items
-
Freedom of the Press Foundation's comment to the UN on the protection of sources and whistleblowers
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, recently called for outside comments on the protection of sources and whistleblowers around the world and will be presenting a report on the subject to the UN General Assembly in October 2015. Freedom of the Press Foundation submitted …
-
Snowden DoublePlusUngood: Continuing shades of Orwell in the NSA saga
It was great to read this Edward Snowden New York Times op-ed—great because the piece is as thoughtful and informative as you’d expect, and even better because it’s an example of Snowden’s continuing ability to raise awareness of the dangers of an unchecked surveillance state. In fact, Snowden has …
-
Our statement on Congress passing the USA Freedom Act, the NSA 'reform' bill
Today the Senate passed a version of the USA Freedom Act, a bill touted by its authors as surveillance reform that will end the NSA’s mass, suspicionless collection of Americans’ personal data. Given that parts of the Patriot Act expired on June 1st, and that the government is pretending …
-
US officials leak information about the ISIS raid that’s more sensitive than anything Snowden ever leaked
Over the weekend, the US government announced that special forces soldiers entered Syria to conduct a raid that killed an alleged leader of ISIS, Abu Sayyaf. In the process, anonymous US officials leaked classified information to the New York Times that’s much more sensitive than anything Edward Snowden ever revealed, …
-
David Petraeus receives no jail time for leaking, while whistleblowers face decades in jail
Former CIA director David Petraeus received his sentence today for the sweetheart plea deal he struck with the Justice Department after he was discovered to have leaked highly classified information to his biographer and lover Paula Broadwell. As was widely anticipated, the celebrated general received no jail time and instead …
-
Dangerous 'cybersecurity' bills going through Congress threaten the rights of journalists and whistleblowers
Along with dozens of other civil liberties organizations, Freedom of the Press Foundation has signed on to two letters strongly opposing the dangerous “cybersecurity” bills making their way through Congress and expected to be voted on sometime in the next week. The bills are little more than new surveillance powers …
-
The James Risen case and Eric Holder's tarnished press freedom legacy
Attorney General Holder raised some eyebrows yesterday when answering a question about his Justice Department’s notorious crackdown on leaks, and by extension the press, most notably saying this about its notorious pursuit of New York Times reporter James Risen, while claiming the DOJ did nothing wrong:
-
Jury convicts CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling on all nine counts including espionage
The following post first appeared at emptywheel.net. After having deliberated for slightly over 2 days, the jury today found Jeffrey Sterling guilty of all nine counts today. I’m not surprised the jury found Sterling guilty of some of the charges: of leaking Risen information on Merlin and the operation he …
-
The Jeffrey Sterling CIA leak trial closing arguments: Who Is the hero, who Is the storyteller?
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. “Jeffrey Sterling was the hero of Risen’s story,” prosecutor Eric Olshan finished his closing argument in the Jeffrey Sterling trial. “Don’t let him be the hero of this one.” …
-
Government tries to implicate CIA whistleblower in leak case with calls to CIA’s house reporter
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. The FBI Special Agent who investigated the Merlin leak, Ashley Hunt, testified on Wednesday. Much of the evidence she entered into the record pertained to the (remarkably limited) phone …
